BILL NUMBER: SB 815 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 31, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Cogdill
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to add Article 20.7 (commencing with Section 69999.10)
to Chapter 2 of Part 42 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education
Code, relating to student financial aid.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 815, as amended, Cogdill. Student financial aid program:
military services. California National Guard
Education Assistance Award Program.
Existing law establishes various student financial aid programs
under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, and
establishes eligibility requirements for the receipt of awards under
those programs for participating students attending qualifying
institutions.
This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation to establish a program to provide student financial aid
assistance to members of the California National Guard, the State
Military Reserve, and the Naval Militia.
Existing law establishes the Military Department, which includes
the State Military Reserve and the Naval Militia, to perform various
duties regarding the state militia.
This bill would, contingent upon a specified appropriation for its
purposes, establish the California National Guard Education
Assistance Award Program on behalf of qualifying members of the
California National Guard, the State Military Reserve, and the Naval
Militia under the administration of the commission. The bill would
require the Military Department, in consultation with the commission,
to adopt emergency rules and regulations for the purpose of
implementing the program. The bill would require the Military
Department to report annually to the Legislature regarding program
participation. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst, on or
before January 1, 2015, to prepare and submit to the Legislature a
report on the program.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 20.7 (commencing with Section
69999.10) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 42 of Division 5 of Title 3
of the Education Code , to read:
Article 20.7. California National Guard Education Assistance
Award Program
69999.10. This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California National Guard Education Assistance Award Program.
69999.12. There is hereby established the California National
Guard Education Assistance Award Program.
69999.14. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The California National Guard exists to provide a military
organization in California with the capability to protect the lives
and property of the people of the state during periods of natural
disaster and civil disturbances, and to perform other functions
required by the Military and Veterans Code or as directed by the
Governor.
(2) The California National Guard performs an essential public
purpose in protecting the health, safety, and property of California'
s citizens and, in order to fulfill its objectives, it is necessary
for the California National Guard to have sufficient human resources
to deal with natural or human-caused disasters and emergencies.
(3) An educational assistance award program for members of the
California National Guard would enhance retention rates within the
California National Guard. Similar educational assistance programs
have been highly successful in other states and have resulted in
substantially higher retention rates.
(b) (1) As citizen soldiers, members of the California National
Guard represent California's labor force, and is a diverse workforce
comprised of skilled and talented workers from all regions of the
state. Education assistance awards have the added benefit of
improving the skills, competencies, and abilities of the servicemen
and servicewomen in the California National Guard who make
significant contributions to our economy and are a vital component of
the civilian workforce. It is the intent of the Legislature that
members of the California National Guard use this education
assistance program to enhance the state's highlyskilled and
highlytrained civilian labor force.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that the
California National Guard has the ability to retain its most
competent and capable members, both in the present and into the
future. The Legislature recognizes that every member of the
California National Guard represents additional federal funding to
the State of California annually. Increasing the strength of the
California National Guard through higher retention rates would
augment the total federal revenue to the state, leading to additional
money flowing into the General Fund as tax revenue.
(c) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature that, in order
to fulfill the public program of maintaining required strength in
the California National Guard, an inducement be provided to members
of the California National Guard by making education assistance
awards available to California National Guard members seeking to
improve themselves through higher education. It is the intent of the
Legislature that these assistance awards be available to California
National Guard members who serve the state faithfully.
69999.16. (a) Commencing January 1 of the 2009-10 academic year,
and each academic year thereafter, any qualifying member of the
California National Guard, the State Military Reserve, or the Naval
Militia may apply for a California National Guard Education
Assistance Award.
(b) A qualifying member shall meet all of the following conditions
to be eligible to receive a California National Guard Education
Assistance Award:
(1) The person is a resident within the meaning of Section 68017.
(2) The person is an active member of, and has served two years
in, the California National Guard, the State Military Reserve, or the
Naval Militia.
(3) The person has been accepted or registered at, or enrolled in,
a qualifying institution, as defined in subdivision (l) of Section
69432.7.
(4) The person agrees to use the award to obtain a certificate,
degree, or diploma that he or she does not hold at the time he or she
applies for the award, and enrolls in at least three academic units
per semester, or the equivalent thereof.
(c) Each person applying for a California National Guard Education
Assistance Award shall submit an application for an award to the
Adjutant General.
(d) The Adjutant General shall do all of the following:
(1) Annually identify the skills most needed by the California
National Guard to retain members who possess, or seek to possess,
those identified skills.
(2) Prioritize those applicants who qualify for an award pursuant
to subdivision (b) based on the skills most needed by the California
National Guard, as identified pursuant to paragraph (1).
(3) Select award recipients from among eligible applicants.
(4) Certify the eligibility of applicants to the Student Aid
Commission.
(5) Notify recipients of their selection for an award.
(e) The number of awards issued in any one year shall be limited
by the moneys approved by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act.
(f) The Student Aid Commission shall issue the awards in
accordance with Section 69999.18.
69999.18. (a) The Student Aid Commission is responsible for
issuing awards authorized by Section 69999.16, upon receipt of a
certificate from the Adjutant General verifying that the applicant
meets the eligibility requirements of this article. The commission
shall provide any information to the Military Department that is
necessary to meet the reporting requirements of Section 69999.24.
(b) The amount of an award issued pursuant to this article shall
be five hundred dollars ($500) for books and supplies, plus the
lesser of either of the following:
(1) The maximum award for a Cal Grant A award, based on the type
of institution attended, pursuant to Section 66021.2, as adjusted in
the annual Budget Act.
(2) The actual tuition and fees charged by the institution at
which the member is enrolled.
(c) An award used for graduate studies shall not exceed the
maximum amount of a Cal Grant A award, as specified in paragraph (1)
of subdivision (b), plus five hundred dollars ($500) for books and
supplies.
(d) California National Guard Education Assistance Awards may be
renewed for each new academic year, for a maximum of five years of
full-time equivalent enrollment, if the Adjutant General certifies
the qualifying member's eligibility and the qualifying member
maintains at least a 2.0 cumulative grade point average.
69999.20. Qualifying members shall not receive both a California
National Guard Education Assistance Award and any Cal Grant Award for
the same academic year. A qualifying member under this article who
is also eligible for a Cal Grant Award may elect between an award
under this article and any Cal Grant Award for the same academic
year.
69999.22. The Military Department, in consultation with the
Student Aid Commission, shall adopt emergency rules and regulations,
pursuant to Section 11346.1 of the Government Code, for the purpose
of administering this article. These rules and regulations shall
include provisions that establish criteria for selecting award
recipients, including priorities for allocating available money to
applicants. The Military Department may solicit the advice of
representatives from postsecondary educational institutions regarding
any proposed rules and regulations.
69999.23. (a) Costs incurred by the Student Aid Commission for
issuing and processing awards shall be reimbursed through an
interagency agreement from appropriations in the annual Budget Act to
the Military Department for purposes of this article.
(b) The Student Aid Commission may enter into contracts with a
public agency or a private entity to improve the processing and
distribution of awards through the use of electronic networks and
unified databases.
69999.24. The Military Department shall report annually to the
Legislature regarding program participation, including, but not
necessarily limited to, both of the following, as categorized on the
basis of age, ethnicity, and gender:
(a) The total number of participants in the program established by
this article.
(b) The number of participants who receive a California National
Guard Education Assistance Award, classified by academic year.
69999.26. The Legislative Analyst shall, on or before January 1,
2015, prepare and submit to the Legislature a report on the program
established in this article. The report may include recommendations
for modifying or extending this article.
69999.28. This article shall become operative only upon an
appropriation by the Legislature of three million six hundred
fifty-one thousand dollars ($3,651,000) to the Military Department
that provides annual program costs for the implementation and
administration of this article and that may be expended only for
those purposes.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation to establish a program to provide student
financial aid assistance to members of the California National Guard,
the State Military Reserve, and the Naval Militia.